Image: Pollice Verso, 1872 painting by Jean-L&eacu...  ...emains of 80 male bodies believe them to be Roman gladiators . The skeletal remains, discovered in a residentia...  ...ght arm strength was typical of men trained to be gladiators from an early age, according to early Roman texts...  ...een decapitated, a...

Using the same methods and tools from two millenni...  ...s people to battle in the arena:To become skilled gladiators , Roman slaves needed to be in tip-top physical sh...  ...m to judge the distance from their opponent. Real gladiators spent hours every day practicing their moves and...